Q: How can a podcaster become a part of Association of Music Podcasting (AMP)?

Firstly, you need to have produced at least 5 episodes of your podcast. We want to make sure you don’t “podfade” after your first couple of episodes.Secondly, all of the music must be podsafe. AMP is about the music that doesn’t get airplay on mainstream radio. Unless artists have specifically made some of their music podsafe, we can’t play it.We also charge a small membership fee, which helps with hosting and other activities.

Most importantly you need to be good at podcasting. Before becoming a member, your podcast will be peer reviewed. We take into consideration the podcaster’s passion about their music, their broadcasting style, the quality of their broadcasting equipment, the quality of the music they play and even the sample rate they create the podcast at.Not everyone makes the grade.

Q: What is the background story on how AMP came about?

AMP’s history goes back to late 2004, long before I joined. Chris MacDonald, Derrick Oien, Bob Goyetche and Jason Evangelho all had important parts to play in setting up the association long before podcasting became a mainstream term.Back then, Apple was reluctant to accept music podcasts into their iTunes store, because they were worried about licensed music being freely distributed under their umbrella.AMP became the first association to offer Apple a “safe harbour” knowing that AMP member’s podcasts would be podsafe. AMP was also the first association to offer episodic downloadable media, and start creating a library of music. This library later went on to become a profit-making enterprise as the Podsafe Music Network.

AMP was, and remains, a non-profit making association, and after a hiatus in mid 2005, George Smyth got things moving again. After revamping the website and building some tools to automate the process of making a collective podcast, the AMPed podcast became a weekly event in the podosphere.

I joined the association in March 2006 and have been a regular contributor since then. Like many new members, initially I just submitted tracks to be played on AMPed, and occasionally became the host. More recently I’ve taken over a few more duties, like webmaster and membership secretary.Now many of the members have regular roles maintaining the podcast feed, making sure we all submit music on time, organizing the host rota and hosting the show. Everyone gets to do as much as they want to do. We’re a good team.

The best thing about the association is that we all have a voice. We’ve had some great suggestions from new members and old members alike and we keep moving forward.

Each podcaster can submit a track to AMPed each week.If everyone submitted a track the show would be 3 hours long, but we generally get enough submissions to fill a 40-60 minute show. It’s entirely up to the podcaster which tracks they want to play, but as they have only one track to chose, it means AMPed ends up being the best of the best. AMPed is also work and child safe.

The week’s host is the final arbiter of what tracks make the show, and the running order. All the hosts have a different style and like different kinds of music, so it’s as much of a journey of discovery for them as it is for the listeners. I’m sure some of the hosts groan when I’ve submitted a track sung in Russian or Cambodian, but hey, I like that stuff, and I think the listeners deserve to hear it. You don’t hear that on mainstream radio!

Q: How does AMP keep changing?

Every new podcaster brings a new perspective on how to promote their podcast and their favourite music. We have members who really understand Search Engine Optimization (SEO), and we’ve completely revamped out website, http://musicpodcasting.org to pull in all the latest information from our member’s blogs and podcasts, straight to our front page.

We have other members who are really passionate about social networking, be that via Facebook, Myspace or last.fm.We’ve recently started using Twitter to publicize when we have new podcasts available, and we’re looking at using Twiturm to “tweet” podcast “samplers” of the shows out to people on the move.

We also want to hear what our listeners have to say, so we’ve created a survey on the main page of our website http://musicpodcasting.org. They can tell us what they think of the show, what we do right, and what we should be doing better.

Q: What changes in content laws, broadcasting rights, etc. have affected any podcasters being able to air their music?

Back in 2004, there were no clear guidelines, but, as I mentioned, Apple were worried about allowing music podcasts into the iTunes store, especially after the legal ruling in the MyMP3.com case.Because all AMP podcasts were vouched podsafe, this gave Apple the solution they needed and all the AMP member podcasts were approved.

Since then, many content laws and broadcasting rights have been suggested, and these vary from country to country. AMP has always been international and we have podcasters based in the US, Canada, UK, Germany, Portugal, Australia and even Nepal, so it’s not easy to see which rules would apply. There are also more stringent rules for streaming services, than there are for podcast downloads, but as long as we keep within our guidelines of using podsafe music, we can continue producing podcasts.

Today there are a large number of resources that podcasters can use to get podsafe or Creative Commons licensed music, such as IODA Promonet, Magnatune, Jamendo and Music SUBMIT as well as the Podsafe Music Network, and, of course, Ariel Publicity.We also get music from other sources such as Myspace, last.fm and from the artists directly, but we do need to make sure the artist, manager, or label gives us permission first. Ariel Publicity is a great service for us, because we know all the hard work has been done beforehand and we can legally play the music.

Of course, nowadays everyone knows what a podcast is. When AMP first started, artists were quite unsure of our motives or even what a podcast was.It’s great to see some of the big artists like, Tom Waits, Bloc Party, Nick Cave or the Manic Street Preachers leading the way and making some tracks podsafe. This encourages up and coming artists to do the same.

Q: A recent study found blogs to be more effective than MySpace in generating album sales, do you feel that podcasts will have the same effect as well?

Absolutely!I wear a T-shirt that says “Podcasting Is Selling Music” and another one of our members talks about “Promotion Not Piracy”.

Myspace is great for artists to allow listeners to hear their music, but the listener has to go searching if they want to find something new.If you find a podcast that you like, you can let the podcaster be your guide. We’ve all heard from listeners that they’ve bought an album that they never expected to like because they’ve heard it first on a podcast.

I’ve played bands back in 2006 that none of my friends had heard of, and now they’re playing the main stage of the largest festivals in Europe. OK, that’s not all down to podcasting, but it’s part of the process. Mainstream radio only picks up on bands when they have a major record deal. Podcasters are playing the music months, even years before then.

If you want to hear something you’ve heard before by the Beatles or the Eagles, then feel free to go to Myspace or listen to mainstream radio. If you really want to hear something really new; something recorded this year, recorded yesterday, something that’s not even finished yet – then listen to a podcast!

Voodoo creates a shimmering concoction of electro sounds, equally at home in the nu rave, indie and gothic tribes we threw a few devious questions her way and this is what came back…

NBT: electro is bright shiny and very much modern (ie of the last 30 years or so) voodoo conjures up thoughts of darkness, mystery and the ancient..How do these two seemingly opposites meet in your act and your music?

My music’s always had a darker edge. It started out being far more eclectic , more guitar orientated, and much more ‘alternative’ and has grown into something which has more direction, has cleaner sounds, lately has far more space and gives way to the possibilities of having a more fun (but still twisted) edge. Before, it was too dark and manic to handle that. I think my moods constantly battle with a childlike attitude to life and between highs that induce occasional hysterical giggling fits and a strange edge to my personality that’s drawn to anything dark, unnerving and unknown. The weird thing is that the 80’s type music that has had some influence on what I write was stuff from the commercial Goth era, whereas now I prefer to listen to more dance/electronica/pop stuff, and that must be where the crossover comes. I think it’s a decent balance though that might keep you on your toes.

NBT: Musicians should be political….or not… Discuss

Not deliberately so, in my opinion- there’s nothing worse than a preaching tunesmith. If a song demands that you make a point, make the point, but then leave it be.

NBT: which is better, the internal of the studio or the revelations on stage?

That depends on the crowd, for me. If there’s a great crowd and they like what they hear, there’s no other feeling (horrible cliché, but true), but since I’m a geeky tech head, I tend to beabit too happy locked up in thestudio- with beer and liquorice allsorts.

NBT: how does a self confessed control freak delegate when creating music..or is that possible?

It’s not possible J

I do it all myself til it’s nearly done ,then ask for constructive criticism and get really unbearably arsey when someone tells me ‘this isn’t right’ or ‘that’s too loud’. After an hour when I’ve calmed down, I generally pull my head in because I knew it was wrong anyway but was too burned out to fix it. Graphic design and some of the mastering I delegate out or share because I think it’s important to get an outside look at what you do.

NBT: The internet is innocent, crazy and brave, with a wink of an eye and a touch of a keyboard it can discover, delight and showcase. Will this wild child save or destroy independent music..your thoughts please. J

Absolutely- but I think it will change the way that people access independent music- has already. It’s part of the evolution process of the industry. Already it’s given so many artists an opportunity to be heard by thousands of people that they would otherwise have had no chance of doing – not because they aren’t good enough, but because they don’t move in the right circles and get the right breaks. The internet is a wonderful new tool for musicians who have recorded songs, who no longer need record labels to do the things record labels traditionally did. The one thing that I think is already suffering hugely as a direct consequence of the internet and of new media tools like mp3 players , and the ability to view home made videos of bands at the drop of ahat on aphone and such like, is the live scene- which certainly from a small venue point of view, is virtually dead on it’s feet.

NBT is extremely happy to have the RETURN of the Ariel Publicity/Cyber PR Interviews.

An aggressive cheerleader for independent musicians, Ariel Publicity built its reputation by working primarily with indie artists. They give back to the independent music community by educating artists through their website, and Ariel has been honored to speak at music conferences such as SXSW, NEMO, and The PMC.

In this new series of Q and A sessions Ariel talks to Pioneers and Groundbreakers, those people who business it is to adventure and explore deep with the New Media. Those whose Blogs and Podcasts and Internet shows truly make a difference for the independent artist in this thrilling time.

New Media Pioneer: Michael Butler of Mevio( see picture) and the Rock and Roll Geek Show

As the premier social media community, Mevio is the only network providing single-click access to the best in new media in audio, video, podcasts, and music to be delivered to your computer, iPod, mobile device, or television.

Q: What is the background story of how Mevio came along?

A: Mevio was originally Podshow. The company was founded by former MTV VJ Adam Curry and his business partner Ron Bloom.

In 2004 Adam had been messing around with audio blogging, before the term podcasting existed. He and Dave Winer were experimenting with adding enclosures to rss feeds and podcasting was born. Soon, podcasters were starting shows and shortly after, Podshow was started. They signed some of the early producers including my show (The Rock and Roll Geek Show), Dawn and Drew, Yeast Radio and some others.

Back then, people were playing whatever music they wanted on their shows. Then people started getting worried that the RIAA may not like that so Adam and some other creative minds started a place for bands who actually wanted to be heard on podcasts to post their music and The Podsafe Music Network was born. Shortly after, Adam and Ron asked me to quit my job as a house painter and work with artists on the network. 4 years later, it is THE place for bands, record labels and content creators to connect.

Q: What do you see the future of Mevio being?

A: I can’t speak for the entire company, since I only work on the music network but my goal is to have every record label, band and aritst on the network. I want independent content creators to have as much power in the music business as radio stations had in the good old days. It is my dream to have back catalog available to podcasters. I can’t speak for everyone but as a content creator, I want to play not only up and coming independent artists but also bands that were a part of the soundtrack of my life.

Q: What is your favorite band or favorite genre of music and why?

A: I am partial to 70’s rock and punk because that is what I grew up listening to. My favorite bands are still Cheap Trick, AC/DC, Aerosmith, Ramones and Joan Jett.

Q: What changes in content laws, broadcasting rights, etc. have affected you most?

A: When I reach out to some of the major labels to try to get their artists on the Podsafe Music Network, some of them still think that posting an mp3 on a website is piracy. The indies have been posting mp3s on their own websites for a few years not but the majors are a little harder to convince. That being said, the majors are now starting new media departments so there may still be hope for the dinosaurs.

The Podsafe Music Network now deals with some of the largest digital music distributors and independent labels in the world and I am really proud of that.

Q: A recent study found blogs to be more effective than MySpace in generating album sales, do you feel podcasts has the same power?

A: I think the labels are slowly realizing that by releasing a song from their artists to blogs and podcasts does more good than harm and can actually help break a band. For example, last year, there was a band from Australia called Airbourne. No one in the US or Europe had ever heard of them. I started playing them on The Rock and Roll Geek Show and listeners seemed to really like them. They emailed the band and let them know they discovered them from my show. Soon after that, got a CD from the band’s management and offered an interview with the band. I interviewed the band and continued to sing their praises. Now that band has taken the country by storm and has released one of the best selling independent hard rock records this year.